Locking handle for sash



Sept. 27, 1966 H. M. RIEGELMAN LOCKING HANDLE FOR SASH 2 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed Feb. 7, 1964 N 3% J H M WW4 y w P 1966 H. M. RIEGELMAN 3,275,361

LOCKING HANDLE FOR SASH Filed Feb. 7, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2/47-raeA/ey.s

United States Patent 3,275,361 LOCKING HANDLE FOR SASH Harry M.Riegelman, Rolling Hills, Califi, assignor to Ador Corporation,Fullerton, Calif., a corporation of California Filed Feb. 7, 1964, Ser.No. 343,398 11 Claims. (Cl. 292-129) This invention relates generally tosliding closure members, and more particularly to a new and usefullocking handle for sliding sash members such as doors, windows and thelike.

Laterally sliding closure members, such as glass doors, screens, etc.,are normally provided with an inside lock which can be operated toprevent the closure member from being opened from the outside. It hasalso been common practice to provide the sliding sash with an insidehandle so that, when the sash is unlocked, it can be readily moved to anopen position.

Although the sliding sash lock and handle arrangements of the prior arthave generally served their purposes, they have left much to be desiredin the way of simplicity of structural arrangement, economy,durability,ease of adjustment after installation upon the sash, andprovision of adequate means for indicating whether or not the sash islocked or unlocked without requiring close proximity observation of thelock. In this latter connection, it would be a matter ofgreatconvenience if persons on the outside could determine from adistance whether or not a sliding door is locked, without having toactually approach and attempt to open the door.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide anewand improved locking handle construction which overcomes the above andother disadvantages of the prior art.

Another object is to provide -a new and improved locking handle for asliding sash, wherein the locking handle is easily adjustable afterinstallation to any desired vertical position along the sash.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a new and improvedlocking handle, wherein the latched or unlatched state of the sash isreadily ascertainable from either side of the sash by direct observationfrom a considerable distance. I

Still another object is to provide a new and improved locking handle fora sliding sash, wherein the latch plate of the lock also serves as ahandle.

Yet another object of the present invention is the provision of a newand improved locking handle which is extremely durable and reliable inoperation.

A still further object is to provide a new and improved adjustablelocking handle satisfying all of the foregoing objects, yet being ofrelatively simple and economical structural design.

The above and other objects and advantages of this invention will becomeapparentfrom the following description, when taken in conjunction withthe accompanying drawings of a presently preferred embodiment thereof,and wherein: 7

FIGURE 1 is an elevational view, from the inside looking out, of asliding screen door mounted, in the casing of a window and embodying thelocking handle of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary elevational view, a portion 'beingbroken away, of the area 2 in FIG- URE 1, and illustrates thecooperation between the locking handle and the jamb of the window casingwhen the screen door is locked;

ice

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary sectional view, taken along the line 3-3 inFIGURE 2, and also illustrates the locking handle in the lockedposition;

FIGURE 4 is a view similar to FIGURE 3, and illustrates the door in theunlocked state, with the latch plate being used as a handle;

FIGURE 5 is an exploded perspective View of a locking handle inaccordance with the invention;

FIGURE 6 is an elevational view, taken in the direction of the arrow 6in FIGURE 5, of the pivot and mounting block of the locking handle; and

FIGURE 7 is a sectional view, taken along the line 7-7 in FIGURE 5, andillustrating the construction of the pivot and mounting block at each ofits ends.

Referring now to the drawings, and particularly to FIGURE lthereof,there is shown a window casing 10 installed in an opening in a wall 12in the usual manner employed in the art. The casing 10 is preferablyfabricated from extruded aluminum frame members which are suitablyformed to provide cooperating flanges, ridges and channels for engagingand accommodating the sashes of a movable window member 14, a fixedwindow member (not shown) and a sliding screen door 16. Of course, itwill be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that theconstruction is not limited to windows or sliding screen doors, but isequally applicable to all openings which utilize a sliding closuremember'in a casing. For purposes of description, however, theconstruction shown in the drawings depicts a sliding screen door in awindow.

construction.

The sliding screen door 16 has a sash frame which is also preferablyfabricated from extruded aluminum frame of the sash frame members, tolock the edges of the wire screen 26 firmly in place (FIGURES 2-4).

The movable window member 14 is provided with a handle 32 and lock 34 ofa type well known in the art. In contrast, the sliding screen door- 16embodies a new and improved, adjustable locking handle 36 in'accordancewith the present invention.

Referring now more particularly to FIGURES 2-7, the structure andoperation of the locking handle 36 will become apparent. The lockinghandle '36 includes a combination handle and latch plate 38 and aCombination mounting and pivot block 40 for the plate 38.

The mounting block 40, which is preferably fabricated of plastic or thelike, is mounted in sliding engagement with the stile 20 of the screendoor 16. To this end, the mounting block 40 is seated and rides within achannel 42 defined by walls 20a, 20b and a flange 200 of the stile 20.

.In order to retain the mounting block 40 within the channel 42, thewall 20d of the stile extends just slightly beyond the wall 201; tooverlie the open side of the channel 42. When the mounting block 40 isinstalled within the channel 42, this projection of the wall 20d alsooverlies a pair of shoulders 44 which are provided, one at each end,upon the mounting block.

A pair of elongated retaining slots 46 are provided in the left side ofthe mounting block 40 to receive the ends of a bowed spring' member 48.When the mounting block 40 is to be installed within the channel 42,.theright which is solid and relatively non-deformable. .end, a pair ofcoaxial springs 52, 54 are placed within the side of the block havingshoulders 44 is first'moved into place behind the projecting portion ofthe stile wall 20d.'

The mounting block 40 is then pivoted about the shoulders 44 to move itinto the channel 42. At the same time, the

bow spring 48 is deformed inwardly towards the mounting block and ridesover a retaining lip or bead 40 projectin-g from the flange 200 into thechannel 42. After the bowed spring 48 has cleared the bead 40, itimmediately expands behind the bead to lock the mounting block 40.within the channel42.

By virtue of the sliding engagement of the mounting block 40 with thestile walls defining the channel 42, the entire locking handle assembly36 can be readily adjusted to any desired vertical position along thestile 20. Hence,

'if it is desired to prevent the screen door 16 from being unlocked by ashort perso'n,*such as a child, themounting block 40 for the lockinghandle would be moved along the stile 20 to a relatively high verticalposition. other hand, where it is desired that the locking handle 36 beused by shorter persons, the entire assembly can On the easily berelocated by sliding the mounting block down- ,ward within the channel42 to any convenient lower position along the stile 20.

The combined latch plate and handle 38 is preferably fabricated .of astrong metal materialsuch as aluminum,

steel or the like. As best observed in FIGURE4, the latch plate 38comprises a combined handle grip and lock .catoh portion38a integrallyformed atone end, a hollow .elongated sleeve 38b formed at the otherend, and a substantially planar intermediate portion 380.

The latch plate 38 is secured to the mounting'andpivo block 40 by anovel, spring-loaded hinge arrangement.

' In this connection, a resilient, laterally deformable pivot post isprovided, rather than a conventional hinge, pin To this opening 56defined by the sleeve 38b, in end-to-end abutment, and thus provide thedesired resilient pivot post. In mounting the latch plate 38 to themounting block 40, both springs 52, 54 are axially compressed Within thesleeve 38b and then allowed to expand into upper and lower aperturesorsockets48, 60 provided at the upper and lower ends, respectively, of themounting and pivot block 40. t In this connection, the outer tail ends52a, 54a

of the springs 52, 54 are received within appropriate slots 62, 64branching from the upper and lower sockets 48,

60, respectively, to resist rotation of the springs about their commonlongitudinal axis.

The inner tail'ends 52b, 54b of the springs 52, 54, re-

spectively, extend through a clearance opening 66 in the sleeve 38b andabut the face of the intermediate portion 380 of the latch plate 38(FIGURES 24). Hence, the. compression springs 52, 54 also behave astorsion springs to apply torque, via the tail ends 52b, 54b, to thehandle and latch plate 38. In this connection, the coils springs 52, 54must be wound in opposite directions so that, in

the illustrated configuration, they will apply torque to the .plate 38in the same direction.

As best observed in FIGURES 2-4, the handle grip and lock catch 38a isprovided with a plurality of parallel, elongated teeth 68. Theseteethare adapted to engage a bead 70 projecting inwardly from the rightjamb 72 of the window casing 10, and the head 70 also extends parallelto the teeth 68. To further enhance the locking cooperation between theteeth 48 and the jamb head 70, the

teeth are canted slightly with respect to the plane of the latch plate38.

Referring now to FIGURE 3, itwill be apparent that,

,in order .to lock the screen door 16, 'it is merely necessary toovercome the biasing forces of the springs 52, 54 and pivot the latchplate 38 to a position whereby one of y.

the teeth 68 will engage the jamb bead 70; Once this has been done, thesprings 52, 54 bias the latch plate 38 against :the jamb 72,50 that oneof the teeth 68 will remain in locking engagement with the jamb head 70until deliberate action is taken to override the spring forces and bringabout disengagement of the. latch plate from thezjamb. This latteraction can be accomplished only.

from the inside of the screen door and, hence, the locking arrangementis essentially tamper-proof from the outside.

By providing a multiplicity of parallelteeth 68,. the screen 6 door 16can be locked in any one of a plurality of closely adjacent positions.

locked in the fully closed position of FIGURE 3 regardless of the degreeof warpage or bowing of the jamb 72.

The aforedescribed latching arrangement 'is extremely strong anddurable, and does not depend for its strength upon the mounting block 40or the springs 52, 54. In.

this connection, if any attempt is made to slide the screen door 16 openwhen it is latched as shown in FIGURE 3,

the stresswill initially be taken .by the resilient pivot post assemblyprovided by the springs 52, 54. However, as

the stress builds up and the springs deform laterally, the

innermost face of the sleeve 38b of the latch plate comes into directcontact with the wall 20b of the right stile 20. Hence, no additionalstress, beyond that; necessary for slight lateral deformation of thesprings 52,154, is'} borne by either the springs or the mounting block40.

Referring now to FIGURE-4, the manner is which the latch plate 38 usedas a handle for opening and closing the screen .door 16 willrbeapparent.

plate into a nonlat ching storage, position {against ,the

screen 26, approximately away from the latching position of FIGURE ,3.With the'latch plate 38in this storage position, the handle .gripportion38a .projects beyond the inner. peripheral border of. thestile'20 andv is readily observable from either side of the screendoor I16 as -a clear indication that the sliding door is unlocked. Moreoventhehandle grip portion 38a or intermediate portion 380 of the latch platemay be grasped by the.

hand as a convenient handle for sliding the screenidoor 16 in eitherdirectiononce the door has been unlocked.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that, while a particular form ofmy invention has been illustrated and described, variousmodificationsfcan be made without departing from the spirit and scope ofmy invention. Ac-

cordingly, I do not intend that my'invention be limited, except as bythe appended claims;

I claim: 7 1

1. In combination with a casing having head and sill 1 members and apair of jambs and a sliding sash includpair of stiles, a latch.

ing upper, and lower rails and a mechanism comprising:

stiles; means embodied by said handle member for selectively engaging ina first position of said handle member;

one ofsaid jambs to prevent sliding movement of said sash relative tosaid casing; V and means for spring-biasing said handle member to asecond position out of engagement with said one of said jambs andprojecting beyond the inner peripheral border of said oneof said stiles,whereby said handle means integrallyembodied by said handle forselective] j engaging in a first pivotal position of "said handle oneMoreover, the provision of a plurality I of teeth 68 insures that thescreen door can :always be.

When the latch plate 38 is pivoted to disengage the teeth 68 from thejamb bead 70 in FIGURE 3, and the screen door 16 is moved to the left toallow the latch .plate to clear the jamb 72, the springs 52, 54automatically rotate the latch" a handle member pivotallymounted uponone of said of said jambs to prevent sliding movement of said sashrelative to said casing;

and means for spring-biasing said handle to a second pivotal positionout of engagement with said one of said jambs so that at least a portionof said handle is readily visible from either side of said sash.

3. In combination with a casing have head and sill members and a pair ofjambs and a sliding sash including upper and lower rails and a pair ofstiles, a latch mechanism comprising:

a handle pivotally mounted upon one of said stiles;

locking means integral with said handle for selectively engaging in afirst pivotal position of said handle one of said jambs to preventrelative movement between said sash and said casing;

and means for biasing said handle to a second pivotal positionapproximately 180 away from said first pivotal position and projectingbeyond the inner peripheral border of said one of said stiles, wherebysaid handle is visible from either side of said sash to indicate lack ofengagement between said locking means and said one of said jambs.

4. In combination with a casing having head and sill members and a pairof jambs and a sliding sash including upper and lower rails and a pairof stiles, a latch mechanism comprising:

a latch plate carried upon one of said stiles;

means embodied by one of said jambs of said casing for selectivelyengaging a portion of said latch plate to restrain said sliding sashagainst movement relative to said casing;

a flexible pivot post passing through said latch plate andspring-biasing said latch plate to a position approximately 180 awayfrom the posititon in which said latch plate engages said one of saidjambs;

and means embodied by said latch plate for limiting the lateral stressesborne by said flexible pivot post and for bearing all of the stressesabove said limit.

5. In combination with a casing having head and sill members and a pairof jambs and a sliding sash including upper and lower rails and a pairof stiles, a latch mechanism comprising:

a mounting block secured to one of said stiles;

a latch plate;

an integral sleeve at one end of said latch plate;

a combined handle grip and lock catch at the other end of said latchplate and integral therewith;

flange means embodied by one of said jambs of said casing forselectively engaging said handle grip and lock catch carried at the endof said latch plate to restrain said sliding sash against movementrelative to said casing;

and spring means extending through said sleeve and pivotally securingsaid latch plate to said mounting block, said spring means biasing saidlatch plate towards a position approximately 180 away from the positionof said latch plate wherein said handle grip and lock catch of saidlatch plate are in engagement with said flange means, the orientation ofsaid spring means within said sleeve being such that said sleeve abutssaid one of said stiles upon lateral distortion of said spring means.

6. In combination with a casing having head and sill members and a pairof jambs and a sliding sash including upper and lower rails and a pairof stiles, a latch mechanism comprising:

a mounting block;

means for securing said mounting block to one of said stiles in slidingengagement therewith;

a latch plate;

an integral lock catch at one end of said latch plate;

flange means embodied by one of said jambs of said casing forselectively engaging 'said'lock catch of said latch plate for preventingrelative movement between said sash and said casing;

an integral sleeve at the other end of said latch plate;

and a pair of coaxial, oppositely wound soil springs extending throughsaid sleeve for pivotally securing said latch plate to said mountingblock and for biasing said plate to a position wherein said lock catchis disengaged from said flange means and projects beyond the innerperipheral border of said one of said stiles, the orientation of saidpair of coil springs and said sleeve relative to said one of said stilesbeing such that said sleeve abuts said one of said stiles upon lateraldeformation of said coil springs when said lock catch is engaged by saidflange means.

7. A combined handle and latch for a sliding sash,

comprising:

a latch plate;

an integral sleeve at one end of said latch plate;

a combined handle grip and lock catch at the other end of said latchplate and integral therewith;

and a pair of oppositely wound coil springs in end-toend abutmentextending through said sleeve and pivotally securing said latch plate tosaid mounting block, the inner tail ends of said pair of coil springsbeing in abutment with said latch plate and applying a torque thereto.

8. An adjustable locking handle for a sash, comprising:

a mounting block;

means coupled to said mounting block for securing said mounting block tothe stile of a sash in sliding engagement therewith;

a substantially planar latch plate;

an integral sleeve carried at one end of said latch plate;

a combined handle grip and lock catch carried at the other end of saidlatch plate and integral therewith;

and a pair of coil springs extending through said sleeve for pivotallysecuring said latch plate to said mounting block and for applying atorque to said latch plate in a prescribed direction.

9. In combination with a casing having head and sill members and a pairof jambs and a sliding sash including upper and lower rails and a pairof stiles, a latch mechalllSIIl comprising:

a latch plate;

an integral, substantially cylindrical sleeve at one end of said latchplate, the walls of said sleeve defining an aperture extending along anaxis substantially parallel to the stiles of said sash;

a combined handle grip and lock catch, said lock catch hailing at leastone projecting tooth parallel to said sti es;

a pair of oppositely wound coaxial coil springs in endto-end abutmentwithin said aperture of said sleeve, the innermost spring t-ail endsabutting said latch plate and applying torque thereto about the commonaxis of said springs;

a mounting block having sockets adapted to receive the outermost ends ofsaid coil springs and to resist rotation of said springs about saidcommon axis, said mounting block being seated within a longitudinalchannel defined by the walls of one of said stiles;

retaining means for maintaining said mounting block within said channel;

and bead means projecting from the inner face of one of said jambs forselectively engaging said projecting tooth of said lock catch torestrain said sliding sash against movement relative to said casing.

10. A combination as set forth in claim 9, wherein said one of saidstiles includes a retaining bead, and said retaining means includes abow spring in engagement with said mounting block and said retainingbead.

11. A combination as set forth in claim 9, wherein said latch plate issubstantially planar and the teeth projectplane of said latch plate.

References Cited by the Examiner.

UNITED STATES PATENTS Habart 16-188 Dawicki 292-229 North 16-189Schweller 292-128 8. 9/1954 Walter 16-189 9/ 1960 Minick. 1/1961Herzfeld 16-189 FOREIGN PATENTS 1/ 1962 France. 11/1951 Germany.

EDWARD C. ALLEN; Primary Examiner. I. R. MOSES, Assistant Examiner.

7. A COMBINED HANDLE AND LATCH FOR A SLIDING SASH, COMPRISING: A LATCHPLATE; AN INTEGRAL SLEEVE AT ONE END OF SAID LATCH PLATE; A COMBINEDHANDLE GRIP AND LOCK CATCH AT THE OTHER END OF SAID LATCH PLATE ANDINTEGRAL THEREWITH; AND A PAIR OF OPPOSITELY WOUND COIL SPRINGS INEND-TOEND ABUTMENT EXTENDING THROUGH SAID SLEEVE AND PIVOTALLY SECURINGSAID LATCH PLATE TO SAID MOUNTING BLOCK, THE INNER TAIL ENDS OF SAIDCOIL SPRINGS BEING IN ABUTMENT WITH SAID LATCH PLATE AND APPLYING ATORQUE THERETO.